Congress Members Speak Out On U.S. Ebola Response; Sen. Moran Calls For ‘Ebola Czar’

Oct 03, 2014

News outlets report on U.S. Congress members’ comments on the Ebola epidemic, including calls for an “Ebola czar.”

BuzzFeed: Who’s Actually Leading The U.S. Response To The Ebola Epidemic
“America’s Ebola effort lacks a leader, a key senator told BuzzFeed News. With Ebola cases doubling every 24 days in Liberia and showing no sign of slowing, Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran said President Obama needs to appoint an Ebola czar to coordinate the government’s sprawling, multi-agency effort…” (Stanton, 10/2).

The Hill: Republicans call for Ebola czar
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) said Thursday that the lack of a central U.S. authority on Ebola has hindered lawmakers’ ability to confront the crisis’s major funding challenges. Moran, ranking member on the Appropriations Committee’s health subcommittee, said he doesn’t know what resources are needed to control the outbreak because President Obama has not appointed one person to direct the response…” (Ferris, 10/2).

The Hill: Ebola becomes political fight
“Ebola is becoming an issue for the midterm election campaign, with several Republicans using the spread of the virus to the United States to criticize President Obama’s leadership. Republican lawmakers are accusing Obama of underplaying the threat. They say the national response to the discovery of an infected patient in Dallas has been woefully inadequate…” (Ferris, 10/2).

The Hill: Ron Paul warns of Ebola ‘overreaction’
“Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) warned that it was ‘very dangerous’ for the U.S. to overreact to Ebola and urged ‘common sense’ to contain the deadly virus…” (Byrnes, 10/2).

The Hill: Rand Paul accuses Obama of ‘underplaying’ threat from Ebola
“Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) accused the Obama administration of ‘underplaying’ the threat of Ebola after it was identified in the U.S. In an interview with the Laura Ingraham Show on Wednesday, Paul said the administration was failing to adequately warn the public about the disease because health officials insisted on maintaining ‘political correctness’…” (Ferris, 10/2).